In this landmark cyber-libel case, the victim
was able to settle out of court with many of the defendants.

With that introduction to cyber-libel, the next
step is to examine a related offense, the act of False Light
Invasion of Privacy.

Invasion of Privacy

With the increasing ability of people to damage
others on the web, many states have created a “false light” law for
the protection of Internet users.

There are four types of invasion of privacy
laws that can be used to prosecute an offender:

Appropriation of an individual’s name or
likeness – While this encompasses the idea of blatant identity
theft, false light appropriation is more subtle. For example, the
following are some common appropriation cases:

Someone could use an individual’s
name and e-mail address and post bigoted remarks as if they were
coming from that individual.

Someone could take an individual’s
photograph from their web page and use it in a story about plastic
surgery disasters.

Intrusion on solitude – This area of false
light involves unauthorized disclosure of an individual’s private
affairs. An example would be publishing private bank records or a
personal home address.